The Peggy: the little schooner that hid in a cellar for over a century.
Built for George Quayle of Castletown, the Peggy raced on Windermere, rode out a gale on her sliding keels, then vanished behind a brick wall. Today she is called the oldest surviving schooner in the world. Here is her story, with every fact linked to its source.
The Peggy is a real boat, built in Castletown in the Isle of Man. Every fact is in our own words with its source linked beside it. Where good sources disagree, we show each version.
The short version
Manx National Heritage calls the Peggy the oldest surviving schooner in the world. MNH Q&A, 2022 She is also the last intact surviving shallop, a type of small open boat. MNH Q&A, 2022
She is the oldest surviving vessel known to have been fitted with sliding keels, an early form of dagger board. MNH Q&A, 2022
Unusually, she survives nearly complete and unrestored, and her masts and spars survived with her. MNH Q&A, 2022
He sat in the House of Keys, the Manx parliament’s elected house, for 51 years. National Historic Ships UK
In 1796 she went to a regatta on Lake Windermere and raced there. National Historic Ships UK
She was found in 1935 in a walled-up cellar in Castletown, where she had lain for more than 150 years. National Historic Ships UK
In January 2015 she was lifted and taken to a dedicated conservation facility. Manx National Heritage, conservation
Even her building date is argued over; the fact-check page lists every place the sources disagree.
Explore
George QuayleBanker, MHK, soldier, inventor, and her owner.
The boatClinker hull, schooner rig, eight little cannon.
The 1796 voyageA regatta, a gale and keels down.
Lost and foundWalled in, then found in 1935.
Saving herOut of the cellar and into the dry.
QuizTen questions and myth or fact.
Tile pictures are credited on their pages and on the credits page.